Bin Laden eyed big body count

MACABRE MATHEMATICS:Bin Laden’s writings show him musing over just how many Americans al-Qaeda must kill to force the US to withdraw from the Arab world

AP, WASHINGTON

Officials have not yet seen any indication that bin Laden had the ability to coordinate timing of attacks across the various al-Qaeda affiliates in Pakistan, Yemen, Algeria, Iraq and Somalia, and it is also unclear from bin Laden’s documents how much the affiliate groups relied on his guidance.

The Yemen group, for instance, has embraced the smaller-scale attacks that bin Laden’s writings indicate he regarded as unsuccessful.